The past two decades have seen a gradual realignment in geographies of wealth, with increasing intensity since the onset of the financial crisis of 2008. Notwithstanding continuing poverty and rising inequality, the East Asian region has been the primary beneficiary along with the Gulf States and the non-Asian BRICs (Brazil, Russia). One consequence has been dramatic growth in the number of high-net worth (HNW) individuals and households and in 2010 the Asia-Pacific surpassed Europe to become the region with the second largest concentration after the United States (US) (Capgemini/Merrill Lynch 2011, 4). Yet the majority of studies of giving among the HNW have been the preserve of scholars in the global North and with a focus on countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (cf. Rooney et al 2006; Schervish 2008). While this is understandable as geographies of philanthropy have tended to reflect geographies of wealth, the philanthropic implications of shifting material dynamics within the global economy remain a largely under explored phenomenon.

There is, of course, no guarantee that an increase in wealth among a particular stratum of a population will lead to a commensurate rise in philanthropic giving. In Europe, for example, philanthropy has not followed the same trajectory as the US. East Asia, having recently (re)emerged as the engine of the global economy, is also not bound to follow the US’s lead in philanthropy, particularly as conceived in western terms.

Nonetheless while there have been limited systematic attempts to understand the effect of growing wealth on giving patterns, probably due to data limitations, anecdotal evidence suggests that philanthropy is increasing in Asia among HNW individuals and households (Menkhoff and Yau 2010). UBS and INSEAD, for example, have recently conducted a region-wide study of philanthropy in ‘Asia’ (UBS/INSEAD 2011). Unsurprisingly the research found evidence that philanthropy is influenced by regional traditions, notably the centrality of the family to business. It also found evidence of a generational schism between older and younger respondents who favour the ‘arts, civil rights and the environment’ over traditional spheres of heath and education and also exhibit a higher propensity to give due to a growing sense of financial security. Overall, though, the report identified a number of trends and themes that would not be out of place in other regions. Philanthropy is portrayed as a response to state and market failures and stimulated by the contrast between increasingly visible prosperity, and its corollary, rising inequality (Menkhoff and Yau 2010).

This exploratory paper has three broad aims. The first is to provide an overview of global macroeconomic trends. Drawing on data from international organisations (for example, the OECD 2010; World Bank 2008, 2011) it outlines the shifting contours of wealth (and poverty) in the global economy and the structural reasons behind the ‘re-emergence of Asia as the world’s most dynamic region’ (Dicken 2011, 16 emphasis in original) (as well as the relative decline of the traditional economic (and philanthropic) powers of the global North). Second, it seeks to draw on data from reports by wealth advisors (for example, Barclays Wealth 2010; Capgemini/Merrill Lynch 2011a, 2011b) to identity geographic concentrations of HNW individuals. Finally in the absence of a substantive body of scholarly research on HNW individuals and philanthropy in East Asia, this paper proposes a research agenda from which to begin to understand the giving behaviours of the HNW in the region and explore the implications for social and economic development, the third sector and civil society.

Publication Type: Panel PaperAbstract: The past two decades have seen a gradual realignment in geographies of wealth, with increasing intensity since the onset of the financial crisis of 2008. Notwithstanding continuing poverty and rising inequality, the East Asian region has been the primary beneficiary along with the Gulf States and the non-Asian BRICs (Brazil, Russia). One consequence has been dramatic growth in the number of high-net worth (HNW) individuals and households and in 2010 the Asia-Pacific surpassed Europe to become the region with the second largest concentration after the United States (US) (Capgemini/Merrill Lynch 2011, 4). Yet the majority of studies of giving among the HNW have been the preserve of scholars in the global North and with a focus on countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (cf. Rooney et al 2006; Schervish 2008). While this is understandable as geographies of philanthropy have tended to reflect geographies of wealth, the philanthropic implications of shifting material dynamics within the global economy remain a largely under explored phenomenon.

There is, of course, no guarantee that an increase in wealth among a particular stratum of a population will lead to a commensurate rise in philanthropic giving. In Europe, for example, philanthropy has not followed the same trajectory as the US. East Asia, having recently (re)emerged as the engine of the global economy, is also not bound to follow the US’s lead in philanthropy, particularly as conceived in western terms.

Nonetheless while there have been limited systematic attempts to understand the effect of growing wealth on giving patterns, probably due to data limitations, anecdotal evidence suggests that philanthropy is increasing in Asia among HNW individuals and households (Menkhoff and Yau 2010). UBS and INSEAD, for example, have recently conducted a region-wide study of philanthropy in ‘Asia’ (UBS/INSEAD 2011). Unsurprisingly the research found evidence that philanthropy is influenced by regional traditions, notably the centrality of the family to business. It also found evidence of a generational schism between older and younger respondents who favour the ‘arts, civil rights and the environment’ over traditional spheres of heath and education and also exhibit a higher propensity to give due to a growing sense of financial security. Overall, though, the report identified a number of trends and themes that would not be out of place in other regions. Philanthropy is portrayed as a response to state and market failures and stimulated by the contrast between increasingly visible prosperity, and its corollary, rising inequality (Menkhoff and Yau 2010).

This exploratory paper has three broad aims. The first is to provide an overview of global macroeconomic trends. Drawing on data from international organisations (for example, the OECD 2010; World Bank 2008, 2011) it outlines the shifting contours of wealth (and poverty) in the global economy and the structural reasons behind the ‘re-emergence of Asia as the world’s most dynamic region’ (Dicken 2011, 16 emphasis in original) (as well as the relative decline of the traditional economic (and philanthropic) powers of the global North). Second, it seeks to draw on data from reports by wealth advisors (for example, Barclays Wealth 2010; Capgemini/Merrill Lynch 2011a, 2011b) to identity geographic concentrations of HNW individuals. Finally in the absence of a substantive body of scholarly research on HNW individuals and philanthropy in East Asia, this paper proposes a research agenda from which to begin to understand the giving behaviours of the HNW in the region and explore the implications for social and economic development, the third sector and civil society.